Car Size Relative to Family Size

ChasingButterflies

Hi there,

My last car was an 04 scenic and I found it a real struggle to get all the kids in the back row (6 & 4 year olds in Graco rallysport seats and baby in briax renaissance) I would say that in the event of an accident I would have been really concerned if the seatbelts would have worked properly as one or more of the bases were on the buckle... this combine with the fact that the kids were so close together didn't make for many happy journeys... so on receipt of hubbys bonus we went straight out and started looking at bigger cars!

We opted for an espace which internally on the second row has 3 full size seats (which the scenic and I presume other cars of the same size from the other manufacturers are lacking) and the 2 in the boot seem to be a proper size too.

The only down side since we couldn't opt for the "grand" version is no boot - but little one won't need a pushchair for long, oh sorry forgot the other shocker - had just under 100miles in tank and went to fuel up!

I would say if you can afford it go for it there is nothing quite as stressful as squashed unhappy kids in the back of the car - only one of them needs to feel grumpy to turn the other two the same way!

I could post a whole load of plus points I am so happy with the car and the kids don't like going in daddy's car now, and we as grown ups almost fight over who gets to drive it - which was never the case with the last car!

Just a quick note to add - we could fit all 3 in the back of the scenic when baby was in 1st stage seat - it was only when she went up to 9kg+ seat that the fun and games started!

Hapless_2

Louise1521 wrote: »

We've got a VW Touran with 3 kids, aged 13, 11 and 3. There's plenty of room in it.

They are good on fuel too, we have the 1.6 bog standard VW touran (06) and we get up to 48 mpg. On a recent trip to Gloucester, from Bude we got 41mpg constantly.

anonymousie

Justie wrote: »

I understand that you still want to use a booster from a safety point of view but legally you don't need to - if there are already 2 children in the back seat using appropriate child seats and there's no room for a third seat then it's legal for a third child to just use the adult seat belt...

Legal yes but not safest option. Get a car that you can fit all kids in the safest age appropriate restraint that fit the car.Agreed that buying new car seats may improve safety and also allow them to fit in.

Dead_Eye_Jones

anonymousie wrote: »

picasso/megane will fit 3 children in seats as far as I know, but TBH you'd be better to look a bit ahead if you can afford it and get a 7 seater eith a small one (zafira/touran) or a proper 7 seater. This will allow space for all the clutter that you will need and, crucially for us, to put all 3 far enough apart not to hit each other during usual travel:rotfl: also allows safe transports of friends etc ( i carry a spare booster as I am a car seat freak even though my 8yrold is only 3cm below the magic height, she will stay in her high back booster as long as possible for safety sake).

how times have changed, my ma bought up 3 boys in a Fiat Strada! Never did me any harm. Any harm. harm HARM HARM arghhhhh :eek:

Justie

anonymousie wrote: »

Legal yes but not safest option.

As I said.

jennywren1976

We have a 54 plate Renault Scenic diesel which is good on fuel consumption and manages to fit our 9,8 and 3 year old in with their booster seats. It has a nice big boot too and is comfy if we go on long journeys!
However we are just starting to look around for an Espace because we are trying to extend the family and would like to jump up to the Espace rather than go for the Grand Scenic.
I would suggest the you do what we did which is take all the kiddies and their booster seats to a large dealer like Carcraft or similair and just wander around trying all the cars out for size. You might get a bit of hassle off the salesmen but we just told them we were only looking at the time and after a while they got bored and wandered off!

bylromarha

I've got a Citroen berlingo which fits 3 chunky child seats in the back. I have a 2 yr old, a 10 month old and we often give a friend and their baby a lift.

It has a massive boot with lots of cunning storage space overhead of all the seat and the boot and under the floor.

We can do all the inlaws in the same week long trip at Christmas and there's even room for the dog and her clutter too.:T It's a cavern!!!!

kimbatty

We had a Megane scenic for a few years and now we've got a Citroen C8 which is 7 seats and fits all their junk in. Great for taking them all away on holiday in as plenty of room. We've got 4 when the step children are here as well

Bean_Counter

We have a Honda FR-V which has three good size seats in the front and the back. Middle seats also very flexible for sliding back and forward, folding over etc.

Excellent cabin space, boot space still reasonable and you still feel like you are driving a normal size car.

Ellie2758

Sorry but can some kind soul point me in the direction of the Motoring thread? I'm looking for a car that is comfortable on long journeys and can fit in 4 adults (well, 2 adults and 2 adult size kids) and lots of luggage. It has to be one of those cars that sit up high as I have back and hip problems. We currently have a scenic (W reg) but it is getting a bit small backseat-wise for the kids and also I find I am always getting neckache on long journeys.